Seedlings for Sale on Saturday and a Worm Census on Sunday

The London City Farm Network will be bringing some herbs and vegetable seedlings for sale this Saturday, May 14th at the outdoor farmers market at the Covent Garden Market from 8am - 1pm.

Heritage tomato seedlings available for sale this week include:

Yellow Ping-pong
Yellow Pear
Chadwick
Ceylon
Isis Candy
Pink Ping-pong
Jaune Flamme
Green Zebra
Japanese Trifele
Hawaiian Pineapple
Rose
Sicilian Sauce
Orange Russian
Robeson
Cherokee Purple
Polish Linguisa
Maltese
Nebraska Wedding
Banana Legs
Black Sea Man

Other varieties will become available in the following weeks once they have a chance to grow a little more!

 

If you are interested in helping us with a worm census please drop by on Sunday, May 15th from 11am-1pm behind the Pioneer Village at the Fanshawe Conservation Area. You may park your vehicle in the Pioneer Village parking lot and when walking towards the village take the path heading for the red barn and turn right.

 

Note: this event will only take place if it is not raining.

Why it's important to do a Worm Census

When getting the garden started for another season it's important to make sure that you have good soil to work with. The best way to check your soil's health is to do a worm census.

WHY DO IT?

Worm castings make your soil healthier and are a good indicator of soil health. Their castings create soil capillaries and allow air and moisture to flow more freely. If there are lots of worms, it is because the soil has lots of organic matter, is well aerated and drained and has a pH of about 6.0-7.0. Good soil looks like chocolate cake and is crumbly in your hands.

WHAT YOU NEED

* A spade, garden gloves, a board or flat clean surface.

HOW

* Do your worm census in the spring or fall when temperatures are comfortably warm but not too hot.
* With a spade remove a block of soil about a foot square (30cms) and 7 inches (17.5 deep).
* Spread the soil on a board, break up the clumps of soil and gently take out the worms and count them. Little worms count the same as big ones.

RESULTS

* More then 10 worms is good news! It means that your soil is healthy and that the worms find your garden to be a nice place to live. You can’t have too many worms so the more the merrier.
* If you find fewer then ten worms, your soil is in need of conditioning and help. It is deficient in organic matter and will need compost or other amendments to become healthy. *

Source: The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, Edward C. Smith, Story Publishing, 2009. p. 136-13

Check out this great article about gardens and the importance of worms: http://www.amystewart.com/images/pdfs/Worms_for_OG.pdf